WASHINGTON - The nomination of Janet L. Yellen to be the next Federal Reserve chair gives critics of the central bank something they rarely have: leverage to force some changes. As the Senate Banking Committee prepares for a confirmation hearing Thursday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) plans to delay a vote on Yellen's nomination by the full Senate unless Democratic leaders bring up his bill to require more expansive audits of the Fed. Although Paul is not on the Banking Committee, half of the Republicans on the panel co-sponsored his bill.

A Los Angeles Department of Water and Power manager who played a role in two controversial department nonprofits is retiring amid an audit of how the organizations spent more than $40 million since 2000. And DWP commissioners have asked the auditors to dig deeper into those nonprofits: The board initially wanted to see copies of any check written by the organizations for $5,000, but on Thursday they asked for copies of any check of $1,000 or more. The two nonprofits, the Joint Training Institute and the Joint Safety Institute, have received up to $4 million in ratepayer funds per year for more than a decade to improve relations between the city-owned utility and its largest employee union.

Talk with Times reporter Jack Dolan at 9 a.m. about an upcoming audit of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Two weeks after demanding details on how two nonprofits run by the agency and its biggest union spent more than $40 million, the agency's commissioners changed tack Wednesday and agreed to let the groups audit themselves. The five members of the panel, four of whom were recently appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti, voted to give the groups, formed about a decade ago to help improve labor relations, a month to account for the expenditure of ratepayer funds.

USC plays its first game under interim Coach Ed Orgeron, who begins an eight-game audition for the full-time job. Times staff writer Gary Klein examines the story lines: Pivotal game Last season's 39-36 loss at Arizona was a turning point for a USC team that had entered the game with a 6-1 record and was ranked No. 10. USC lost five of its last six games, placing immense pressure on former coach Lane Kiffin and Athletic Director...

By the end of night three of "The Voice's" Season 5 blind auditions, Christina Aguilera had added four new singers to her team, Adam Levine had snagged two, and Blake Shelton and Cee Lo Green had each scooped up three. The lucky (and talented) vocalists who'd made it through were all thrilled. That's to be expected. But what's more remarkable about "The Voice," of course, is how respectfully and supportively it deals with even those who fail to advance. That kindness was underscored on Monday night when veteran singer Malford Milligan - a 54-year-old from Austin, Texas, who has toured with B.B. King but struggled to conquer self-esteem issues after having been bullied as a child because he is, he says, "a black albino" - took the stage.

Los Angeles elected officials ramped up pressure Tuesday on the city-owned Department of Water and Power to account for more than $40 million in ratepayer money paid to two nonprofits created to improve relations between agency managers and the largest employees' union. City Controller Ron Galperin offered new details on an audit he's launching, saying it will examine the nonprofits' travel expenditures, salaries and the "rather significant and un-detailed outlays" listed on the groups' federal tax forms.

Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin announced Friday evening that he will audit an estimated $40 million the Department of Water and Power paid to two nonprofit groups created to improve relations between the utility's managers and its largest employee union. In his letter to DWP General Manager Ron Nichols, Galperin cited a Friday Los Angeles Times story reporting that the agency claimed to have only scant information on how the public funds had been spent. "Many questions remain outstanding about the expenditure of these funds," Galperin wrote.

SACRAMENTO --The California parks department, which was rocked by an accounting scandal last year, still has more work to do, according to a new audit released Tuesday. The department still lacks a system to track spending at individual parks, the report said, and internal budgets are finalized too slowly to adequately plan park operations. The report is the second part of a review conducted by the state auditor at the request of California lawmakers. The first part was released in February.

WASHINGTON - An independent audit released Thursday accused the U.S. Agency for International Development of “reckless disregard toward the management of U.S. taxpayer dollars,” prompting an angry rebuttal from the agency leading American reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. The special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction said the agency funded a $236-million health program without verifying the Afghan government's cost estimate and provided the money directly to the Afghan Health Ministry despite its weak financial management capabilities.

State Controller John Chiang will conduct an investigation into the administrative and internal controls of scandal-battered Cudahy after receiving several requests from city leaders. “This is a significant milestone for the city,” Mayor Jack Guerrero said. “I'm encouraged by the news.” For several months, Guerrero and the vice-mayor made multiple requests to state officials for an audit after a federal bribery investigation last June revealed widespread corruption at City Hall.